


Stolen goods

by Howling_Harpy



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Cute, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, M/M, Unconventional Affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 02:49:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Howling_Harpy/pseuds/Howling_Harpy
Summary: Lipton notices some of his belongings disappearing. He takes the matter to Major Winters who has an idea of what's going on.





	Stolen goods

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this from an anonymous prompt I got on Tumblr. Speirs has some unique tendencies. 
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on HBO's drama series and the actors' portrayals in it. This has nothing to do with any real person represented in the series, makes no money and means no disrespect.

Getting promoted from First Sergeant to Second Lieutenant went with less fuss than Lipton had feared. His duties changed and he had to adjust to the changes, but Talbert took his old post and Lipton couldn’t have hoped for a better man for the job, and thus a considerable amount of his worries was eased. Other officers of the battalion either already knew and trusted him and the replacements respected a veteran. In a way, the promotion felt like it had ended a phase of hovering in the middle as being the First Sergeant wasn’t the same as being an officer but it wasn’t quite the same as other enlisted men either. So despite all the new duties and more work, Lipton felt oddly relived, like something had slipped into place.

He saw more of Captain Speirs nowadays too. For a completely selfish reason Lipton was happy about that, and he had a feeling Speirs was glad about seeing him too. 

Speirs seemed to consider Lipton, a fresh junior officer, his own person right-hand man as he came to him with everything and liked to ask Lipton to accompany him as often as possible. Lipton appreciated the opportunities to learn and get to know his CO’s way of doing things, but he got a feeling that Speirs also wanted to just spend time with him. 

Nevermind the scuttlebutt, Lipton liked Speirs. He didn’t fear him even though he could admit he understood why other men did, but found he rather liked his personal brand of stoicism and strength. Speirs was easy to read and figure out since he spoke his mind clearly and often, and Lipton theorized that this frankness was why others found him difficult. He didn’t. He enjoyed not having to guess about Speirs’ moods or what he wanted. Lipton wasn’t afraid of him and didn’t find his manner domineering, and furthermore, he had found that under the filth and grime Speirs had a bright and toothy grin-smile, a handsome face and keen eyes with long dark lashes. 

Speirs wasn’t especially liked, Lipton could tell. He was respected, sure, but he didn’t have many buddies. Winters got along with everyone and feared no one, and in his tow Nixon and Welsh were more than happy to have another misfit among them, but Lipton wondered whether Speirs had real friends. He wondered if he was a real friend. 

Being billeted with the officers wasn’t exactly new to Lipton, but somehow being an officer among officers was, and apparently so also to the other officers. At first he thought he was just misplacing his things. It was spring and so he didn’t really miss his gloves nor his woolen scarf, he wasn’t sure if he had just miscounted the envelopes he had left, and he still had a spare pen. 

What he did miss was his pocketknife as it had been a gift from his brother, and that was when he went to Major Winters. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing, sir,” Lipton said when he had finished his list of missing belongings.

“Unacceptable is what it is,” Winters replied. “If someone is stealing your things, I want to find that person and put a stop to it. I won’t tolerate behavior like this.”

“Yes, sir,” Lipton agreed. 

“Where are your things disappearing?” 

“From my billet and my backpack,” Lipton said. 

“Do you have any idea who might be doing this?”

“No, sir. None of the men have ever given me a hard time. I thought… Maybe some officers are playing a prank on me?”

Winters huffed and seemed to think it over. “Well I don’t find this funny,” he finally said.

“Neither do I. I’d like at least my knife back, and some of my clothes maybe.”

Winters gave him a long, steady look. It was one of those that made it obvious that he was clearly furiously thinking and probably knew something the other person didn’t but wouldn’t let it on. Lipton knew better than to ask and just hoped it would mean that the matter would be solved soon. 

That same evening Lipton was sitting on his bed in his assigned room and writing a letter home to his mother. There were few good things to tell her, but still he wanted to let her know that he was alive and feeling alright. Half of his letter paper had gone missing, but he still had more than enough for a small note to his family.

There was a knock on the door that made Lipton jump up. “Yes?” he called, expecting a man of Easy to come in with a grievance or a request like so many times before.

Instead he got Speirs. 

“Oh. Evening, sir. Is something wrong?” Lipton asked.

Speirs lingered in the doorway, leaning on the frame and toeing the threshold. “No, everything is alright,” Speirs said. 

His body language was curious and left Lipton mentally fumbling for a moment before he managed to find the right word for the Captain: he was uncertain. Lipton took a good look at Speirs from head to toes and that only reaffirmed his deduction: he was lingering by the door, avoiding his eyes and fidgeting. It was quite the sight; Lipton hadn’t ever seen Speirs look even a little nervous.

“May I come in?” Speirs asked.

“Of course,” Lipton replied and gestured him in.

Speirs stepped in and closed the door behind him, hands digging through his pockets. For a moment Lipton thought he was fishing for his cigarettes as he crossed the narrow floor space, but when the Captain got to him, what he pulled out of his pocket and thrust towards Lipton was his pocketknife.

Caught off guard, Lipton took the knife from Speirs’ hand and checked it was indeed his knife. 

“This… I thought I’d lost this,” he muttered. “Who did you get it from?” He was a little amazed how quickly the mystery had been solved but he couldn’t help pitying the poor man who Speirs had found the knife with. 

Speirs was still staring past Lipton and awkwardly sucked his teeth. “Winters came to talk to me today,” he said instead of answering Lipton’s question. “Said you missed some of your things.”

Lipton nodded. “Uh… Yeah, I did. I didn’t want to be a bother and complain about nothing to you. It’s not the stuff, I just thought that maybe I was being teased.” 

Speirs chewed on his lower lip and nodded along. “Yeah. Yeah, I can see why you’d feel like that,” he muttered. He paused, glanced at the knife Lipton was still holding with both his hands, thumb stroking along the handle. “That’s important to you, I take it?”

Lipton smiled and nodded. “It was a farewell gift from my brother.” 

“Oh. That’s nice. It’s a pretty knife.”

“It is. He bought it for himself with a part-time job over one summer.” 

Speirs nodded his understanding and paused again, swaying on his feet a bit. “Winters came to talk to me about it today. He didn’t mention that you felt bullied, but he did tell me to stop sneaking around and just come talk to you properly.” 

Lipton frowned. “Oh?” 

“Yeah,” Speirs said, digging through his pockets again. “I reckoned you might want some other things back too.” 

Lipton’s frown only deepened when out of Speirs’ pockets came his gloves, an empty pack of cigarettes, his lighter and a few grumbled envelopes. Lipton blinked and his mouth dropped open without any words to speak as things kept piling on his bed, his scarf, a tin of Vaseline, one of his undershirts he thought to be lost in laundry and a handful of pens joining the rest. 

Lipton stared at the pile of his belongings for a moment, then turned his gaze back to Speirs. 

“I wouldn’t have taken the knife if I had known you’d miss it,” Speirs muttered. He was shifting his weight from one foot to another and dug his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket, and his mouth kept twitching and lips pursing making him look like an embarrassed schoolboy who expected to be scolded for something he fully well knew was foolish. There was a light blush on his cheeks completing the image, making it outright adorable. 

Lipton couldn’t keep himself serious anymore and blurted out a laugh that he rushed to muffle against his knuckles. 

Speirs’ gaze snapped to his at the sound, his green eyes wide and surprised, and Lipton felt his face flushing to match his. 

Lipton swallowed the laugh and cleared his throat. “I don’t know why you took my stuff, but thank you for bringing it back.” 

Speirs shifted on his feet again. “No, look. I’m sorry I took it. I didn’t mean to tease or take anything valuable.” 

Lipton tilted his head. “Then why?”

Speirs lowered his eyes again. “Well… I suppose I… I suppose I just like having things that remind me of you.” 

Another laugh threatened to bubble up from Lipton’s throat but he forced it down and bit on his lip. He felt his face heating up in a manner that told him that if he wasn’t blushing yet he surely was now, and suddenly he couldn’t look at Speirs either. He swallowed hard and looked down at his hands instead. “Oh,” he breathed in a small voice. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

Speirs gave a decisive nod. “There it is. It’s the truth.” He took a deep breath, dug inside his jacket again and this time pulled out a chocolate bar that he thrusted to Lipton’s chest. “Here. I’ve taken your things so I think I owe you something to make up for it.” 

Lipton brought his hand up to accept the treat, brushing his fingers against Speirs’ as he did. He couldn’t resist the temptation to ask: “Where’s this from?”

Speirs shrugged. “From me to you. If that’s okay.” 

Lipton could only smile. “It’s very okay.” 

Speirs nodded again. “Alright then, I shouldn’t bother you any longer, Lieutenant. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing.” He turned around, walked to the door and got it open and one foot into the corridor before Lipton caught on.

“Wait a moment!” he called.  
Speirs halted half out of the room and turned. 

Before Lipton had the chance to lose his nerve, he strode after him and quickly peered over Speirs’ shoulder into the empty corridor. “It’s my turn to steal something from you, Captain,” he said. 

Speirs only raised his brows, and then Lipton cupped his jaw, quickly leaned in and placed a short, sweet kiss directly on his mouth. He heard Speirs taking in a startled breath through his nose and felt him shiver in his hold, but despite that his lips were parted and ready and kissed back with the same intensity his eyes always held. 

It was only seconds but felt like a small eternity when they pulled back. Lipton watched Speirs flick his tongue out to taste his lips and wanted to pull him back in. 

Instead, he let his hand drop from Speirs’ face to his shoulder and pushed him out of his room. “Good night, Captain Speirs,” he said.

Speirs nearly stumbled backwards, eyes wide and a little stunned. “Good night, Lieutenant Lipton,” he said back. 

Lipton closed the door. He rested his forehead against it and couldn’t stop grinning.


End file.
